KAYSVILLE — Elder Monte James Brough, a Utah businessman and emeritus general authority for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, died Tuesday, Sept. 20, in Kaysville. He was 72 years old.
Elder Brough was called to the First Quorum of the Seventy at the October 1988 general conference. When the Second Quorum of the Seventy was established the following April, he was sustained as a member of that quorum. In the April 1991 conference, Elder Brough was again sustained to the First Quorum of the Seventy.
He also served in the Presidency of the Seventy from August 1993 through August 1998. He was named emeritus general authority on Oct. 6, 2007.
In his general authority service, he was a counselor in the Utah Central Area, a counselor, then president of the Asia Area, president of the North America Southeast Area and a counselor in the North America Central, Utah North, then the Utah South areas.
He was born on June 11, 1939, in Randolph, Rich County, to Richard Muir Brough and Gwendolyn Kearl Brough. His father died early in 1941 and his mother, scrambling to find a job in an area still recovering from the Depression, won an election for Rich County treasurer in order to support her family. She held that office for 22 years.
He overcame some birth defects aggravated by a childhood injury to make his high school basketball team as a junior and was on the starting five as a senior.
In 1959, he accepted a mission call to the British Isles, where he also was a special counselor in the mission presidency.
"My mission was the fulcrum event in my life," Elder Brough told the Church News after his call as a general authority. "At the end of my mission experience, I knew that, with God's help, there is nothing on this earth I cannot do, I believe that (philosophy) works in business, I believe that it works in raising children, and, certainly, it works in the church."
After returning from his mission, he secured employment in the computer department of an aerospace contractor. On Aug. 30, 1962, he married Lanette Barker in the Idaho Falls Temple. They had three sons and four daughters.
He graduated from the University of Utah in 1965 with a degree in mathematics and later earned a Ph.D. from the U. in business administration.
Elder Brough also was an IBM systems engineer and founded a multinational computer services company from which he retired prior to being called as president of the Minnesota Minneapolis Mission.
He also directed business operations in computer services, wholesale distribution, real estate, ranching and investments. He was a director for companies in Canada and the United States. At the time of his call to be a general authority, he was teaching a business strategy course at Brigham Young University.
Elder Brough was the founding president of the United Way of Davis County and served on the Farmington City Council. He also served in various Scouting and community organizations where has lived.
In the church he served as bishop, counselor in a stake presidency, regional representative, member of the Young Men general board, second counselor in the Young Men general presidency and assistant executive director of the Family History Department. He spoke five times in general conference. In his last address, given at the priesthood session of the October 2003 conference, he told young priesthood holders to rise to the challenge of their quorum responsibilities.
He is survived by his wife and seven children, 23 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held Monday, Sept. 26, at 11 a.m. at the Kaysville Utah West Stake Center, 270 W. Burton Lane, Kaysville. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to the LDS Church's General Missionary Fund.